Here's Reason Why F-35 Program Facing Delays in Full-Rate Production

F-35 Program Facing Delays in Full-Rate Production, As DoD Struggles to Integrate Into Simulators

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is performing well in the real world, but challenges incorporating it into a Defense Department simulation system will delay DoD from being able to move into full-rate production, the Pentagon’s top weapons-buyer told reporters today.

Ellen Lord, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said in a media briefing that the services are doing well in operating and sustaining the aircraft. But, she said, a decision to declare Milestone C and move into full-rate production – which would allow DoD to consider awarding multi-year procurement contracts and further cut cost from the program – could be delayed by as much as 13 months.

“We actually just have signed out of the [Joint Program Office] earlier this week a program deviation report that documented expected schedule threshold breach in the Milestone C full-rate production decision milestone of up to 13 months. So what this is the result of – and I follow this very carefully – is the fact that we are not making as quick progress on the Joint Simulation Environment integrating the F-35 into it,” she said.
“It is a critical portion of [Initial Operational Test and Evaluation]. We work closely with Dr. (Robert) Behler at [Director of Operational Test and Evaluation]: they’re making excellent progress out on the range with the F-35, but we need to do the work in the Joint Simulation Environment. We have collectively decided that we need to get the JSE absolutely correct before we proceed, so I’m going to make some decisions about when that full-rate production decision will be made shortly.”

The 13-month delay would push the Milestone C decision from this December to as late as January 2021.

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Видео Here's Reason Why F-35 Program Facing Delays in Full-Rate Production канала US Defense Today